Machine foe



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. CRAVSHAW, OF ROCHESTER, NEV YORK..

MACHINE FOR CUTTING OUT THE SOLES 0F BOOTS .AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,936, dated July 20, 1858.

ToV all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN CRAwsHAw, of Rochester, in the county of Monroeand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Machinery for Cutting out Soles for Boots and Shoes; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making partof this specification, in which- Figures l and 2 are vertical sectionsof the machine in planes at right angles to each other. Fig. 3 is a planof the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention consists in a certain mode of applying and operating apattern and a cutter, whereby a very cheap, easy working, and easilymanaged machine is obtained.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is a bench of convenient height and size, supporting and havingsecured to it a frame B C C, consisting of a ring B, with two legs C C,which serve to hold it some distance above the bench.

D, is a wheel having a rim which is partly received within the ring Band is furnished with a flange a, see Figs. l and 2, below the saidring, said flange being intended to bear upward against a series ofantifriction rollers c, c, which are fitted to ring B as shown in Figs.l and 3, and the rim above said flange being fitted with antifrictionrollers c, c, to run around the interior of the ring B, as shown inFigs. 2 and 3.

b, b, Fig. 2, are two pins inserted in the legs C, C, to prevent thewheel dropping out of the ring.

c, d, e, is the cutter carriage consisting of a plate c, with two bossesd, e, on the under side which bosses are tted to slide in two slots f,f, which are formed in the wheel D, on opposite sides of its hub g, byproviding said wheel with two parallel arms 71., it, on opposite sidesof the hub, said slots being in line with each other. The cuttercarriage is secured to the wheel by plates z', z', under the arms z, z,but left free to slide across the wheel.

E, is the cutter stock fitted to turn freely in the boss e, of thecutter carriage and provided with a crank handle y', at the top.

R, is the cutter fitted to turn freely in a socket formed in the lowerend of the stock but confined within said stock by the pattern in amanner which will be presently described.

F is the pattern consisting of a metal plate whose profile is of theform of the sole to be cut, said plate being attached by` a headed pinl, to the hub of the wheel D, the axis of the said pin coinciding withthe axis of the wheel. This pattern has a groove n, formed in its upperside very near the edge, as shown in Figs. l and 3, and has attached toits back a cogged gear m, corresponding in form with its own profile.The cutter stock has secured to it a pinion 0, which gears with the gearm, and which is held in gear therewith by a tongue 7', formed on oneside of the cutter R, and fitting into the groove n, in the back of thepattern as shown in Fig. l. This tongue also serves to keep the cutterin place and make it follow closely around the profile of the pattern.The cutter projects a distance below the face of the pattern equal atleast to the thickness of the leather from which the soles are to becut.

G is a cutting board larger than the pattern F, fitted to a cavity G, inthe bench A, and furnished with guide pins s, s, to work through holesin the bench and in the feet of the legs C, C. This board is connectedwith a lever H, which works on a fulcrum t, under the bench, and whichhas a spring u, applied to it in such a manner as to raise the cuttingboard with the leather upon it up to the pattern which is provided withspurs o, o, (Fig. 2) on its under side to enter the leather' and preventthe pattern turning during the cutting operation.

I, is a hook to hold up the outer end of the lever, when the cuttingboard is desired to be depressed.

J J K, is a frame whose parallel sides J, J, are fitted to slide throughposts fw, w, erected on the bench. This frame has attached to its endtwo elastic sharp-pointed dogs m, which press downward toward the tableand it has screwed on its parallel sides, two nuts L, L, which combinewith the end K, to limit the sliding movement of the frame which is in adirection transverse to the length of the cutting board. The leatherfrom which soles are being cut is represented in red color in Figs. land 2.

The leather before being introduced to the machine is cut into parallelstrips of a width equal to the length of the soles to be cut, and ispassed under the elastic dogs w, m, to bring its end on the cuttingboard G while the face of said board is kept on a level with the face ofthe bench A, by the outer end of lever H, being held up by the hook I.The operator stands on one side of the machine, with the outerprojecting end of the lever H, at his right hand, and the feed dogs m,at his left hand; and when the leather has been adjusted as abovedescribed, he pushes aside the hook I, and allows the spring to depressthe outer projecting end of lever H, and force up the cutting board soas to press the leather hard against the pattern F, which is adjusted byturning the wheel D, to stand right across the piece of leather. He thentakes the handle j, f the cutter stock in his right hand, and turns itin the direction indicated by the arrow shown on the said handle in Fig.3, to produce a rotary motion of the cutter stock, whose pinion 0, is bythat means caused to work around the pattern gear m, and carry thecutter R, all around it, by which movement of the cutter the sole is cutout to the exact form of the pattern. The above movement of the pinionaround the gear m, is provided for by the combination of the rotarymovement per mitted to the wheel D in the ring B, and the slidingmovement permitted to the cutter carriage in the slots f, f, of thewheel. The cutter is prevented turning with the cutter stock E, duringthe above described operation, by its tongue 1", working in the grooven, of the pattern. When the sole has been thus cut out, the operatorraises the outer end of the lever H, and draws down the cutting boardand leather from the pattern and cutter and moves the frame K, in thedirection of the arrows shown near it in Fig. 3, which movement causesthe dogs m, to carry a fresh portion' of the strip of leather under thepattern, after which the cutting board is raised again as beforedescribed and the cutter made to operate as before to cut a new sole byturning the handlej. The nuts L, L, are adjusted so that the frame J JK, is just permitted to move far enough to feed the leather the properdistance according to the width of the soles to be cut. Its elastic dogsm, slip over the leather when it is pulled back in the oppositedirection to that indicated by the arrows shown upon it in Fig. 3, butsaid dogs indent themselves into the leather and carry it along thebench when they move in the opposite direction. In order to save stock,the operator turns the wheel D half way around between every twooperations of the machine, so as to reverse the position of the patternand cut the widest part of each sole from the part of the leatheradjoining that from which the narrowest parts of the next soles oneither side were cut; thus preventing much waste.

I do not claim, broadly, the cutting of soles by means of a movingcutter acting in conjunction with a grooved pattern; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Combining the cutter and the pattern with each other and with wheel D,by means of the pattern gear m, pinion o, groove n, tongue 1*, cuttercarriage o, d, e, slot f, and the cutter stock E, or their equivalents;the whole being arranged to operate substantially as herein specified.

JOHN CRAWSHAW.

Vitnesses:

FRED. DE LANo, FRED. A. VHITTLESEY.

